Charles h



Il` @uitrit tafrelatm@ffirr.

eI`.I AnLItS II.l IIcK-ERING, 0F INDIArmPOLI-s,` INDIANA@ l Letters Patent No. 66,252, dated July 2, 1867 antedated June 27, 1 867. l

IMPROVEMENT IN rTAr-DI'GGBR;

TO ALLWHOM lT MA.Y

Be it'lrnown that I, CHARLES H. Prcnnnme, of vthe cityof- 'Imlianapolis, county. of Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented afnew and useful Machine for Digging Potatoes; and I do hereby declare that the fol-A lowing is a fullixnd exact description thereof, reference being had to'the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon. v A .l My'inventioh relates to a machine for digging and gathering potatoes, so arranged 'as to'sernpc and clean `thevines and weeds from the rows in front of the machine, and plough np'the potatoes with a double-shared plough, having slats or bars attached to the rear ofthe share to held up thepotatoes and sift out thesoil, and a rotary gatherer with curved arms to take the potatoes from the slats and deposit them in a box hung `to the rear of the machine. f i 't A is the frame, to which all the other parts of the machine are attached; Bare wheels fixed upon an axle, k 'C, whiclris hung iri the lower ends of levers D. l The levers D are attached tothe frame at K, which forms' their fnlcrum. The upper ends ofthe levers D are connccte(l "i\ith a bar, E, so'that'both may be operated at once by the driver. This arrangement of hanging the-wheels B is'fir the purpose of `throwing themforward and downward, in order to support thel plough Geil" the ground in transporting the machine to or from the field, and `also at the same'. time to throw.- the rotating gatherer H ont of gear. To a down-.ward projecting standard@'double-shared plough, G, is attached, which has slats or bars, g, projecting from the rear and inclining -Iupwarddtofreceive-the potatoes :xs-they are 'dug up byftheplou'gh". in front 'ofthe plough G is another double-i shared plough, F, -set s o as to merelyslim the ground and; olea-r awa-y thevines and weeds and take ed a little of the top soil.' At .the rear end of the bars g is a rotarygatherer, I-I, consisting of a shaft having curved arms z',:thatwork up betweenlh slats g and .gather the potatoes and carry them Aover and deposit them in the box.V 1L,- or rather on-thc chute 0" th`xit conveys "them-to. the box L,`which .is hung to the rear end of the machine. The rotating gatherer II is. hung in the hangers M, as showband has. lianges o r platesN to preventthe potatoes getting out'of the'end. Sideboard's are also fixed to the sha-re and at theside of the slats of the plough G, to ,j .prevent the potatoes froth rollingoif the side. A truck-wheel', P., is attached at the rear end of the machine to supportit A clod-crushcr, B is hung over the plough G, as sl1own, `which is rotated by the earth catching on i the points of'thepins S as .the machine nieves forward,l which crushe's andp'ulverizes the soil lso that it will sift through the spacesbetween the slats g. i

The rotarygatherer is operated by the small cog-wheel `T on its own shaft, and the large cog-wheel U on the shaft C. O nly afew o f the cog's on these wheels are shown in the drawing, the outline of the wheels being drawn in full line. By throwing the upper ends of levers Dv back, the driving-wheels B nre'brought forward and downward so as to support the plough G out of the ground, and admit of the machine being hauled from place to place without the plough Gl entering the ground; and this also separates the cog-wheels T and so that the gatherer is not operatedwhen the machine is entered at thecomnienccnient of the ro'w of potatoes. The plough G runs under them until they ride upon the slats g, the soil sifts through the spa-cest, and the rotating gatherer lifts the potatoes and carries them over on to the inclined slats O to the box L, from which they can be emptied at the end of the row.

Having thus fullydescribed my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, fis-l- 1. The double-shared ploughG, with thc slats r/ andside-boards as shown, in combination with the rotating lgatherer H, substantially as and f or the purpose set forth. v

` 2. The scraper-plough F, in combination with the doublcfsharcd plough G, substantially as .and for the purpose set forth.

3. The arrangement of the levers D for supporting and operating thewheels B, substantially asand for the purpose set forth. v Y

4. The slotted inclined plane O, for conveying the potatoes to the box L,- in combination with the rotating carrier H, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

oIIAnLEs H. Hensema i' Witnesses G. M. Lnrn'rrn, 0. F., MAYIIEW. 

